Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 05/24/2007 The True Hero is a fairly by-the-numbers drama which tells the story of a Triad boss named Wing (Simon Yam) who wants to go straight after his release from prison by becoming a teacher. This doesn't sit well with his long-time girlfriend Hung (Anita Yuen), who has grown used to the lavish lifestyle of a dai lo's girl. Things only get worse when Wing's students, led by the rebellious Kit (John Tang) begin to move into the Triad unter the tutelage of a rival boss, Tiger (John Ching-Tung). There's a nice shiny quarter in it for you if you can figure out how things turn out. This is all pretty standard Hong Kong fare for the time, and The True Hero doesn't break any new ground in the genre. Sure, it tries to puff itself up to be a big commentary on the youth of Hong Kong and the perils of Triad influence ala School on Fire. But frankly, Joe Cheung's extremely average direction threatens at many points to make The True Hero into nothing more than a Lifetime movie of the week or an ABC afterschool special. At many times, it comes off as nothing more than a star vehicle for John Tang, who was a rising young actor at this point in HK film history. The film-makers seemed to have forseen The True Hero's shortcomings, and so they attempted to pump up the excitement level by putting in a few bloody action scenes. Of particular note is the finale, which bears the obvious marks of veteran action director Stephen Tung. While these segments are certainly exciting and add a bit of punch to the movie, they feel terribly out of place for a picture of this genre. It's hard to take a film too seriously as having any sort of deep meaning when in one scene, characters are espousing the evils of violence, but in the next, they're blasting away people with full clips from a machine gun in each hand. What really saves The True Hero are the performances of the two leads. Of course, Simon Yam is a bad-ass as always, even when he's being a bit nebbishy as a teacher. But, given Yam's experience, range, and body of work, one might expect just a bit more from him here. Thankfully, though, Anita Yuen, usually regulated to "cutie pie" roles, picks up the slack here. Sure, you're not going to mistake her performance for something from a Category III movie, but it was nice seeing her be a bit nasty. [review from www.hkfilm.net] Reviewer Score: 5

Reviewed by: grimes Date: 04/09/2000 It stars Simon Yam, Anita Yuen, & John Tang (he was the main character in the three Ripe Banana Time films). I watched this film primarily because I love Anita Yuen and I liked John Tang in the RBT films. The plot goes like this. Simon Yam is a badass gangster who goes to jail for 10 years for being such a badass. Anita Yuen is his girlfriend. When he gets out he wants to go straight so he takes a job at a school. He ends up teaching the badass class (John Tang plays the baddest ass in the class). He, of course, wants to save them from making the same mistakes that he made. I think you can figure the rest out. True Hero is ok, but unexceptional. It has some decent action sequences and some funny scenes but really doesn't stand out too much. It does have a decent ending which may be its saving grace. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it or warn people away from it.

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 An unforgettable and tragic experience causes an underworld hitmanto turn over a new leaf. His resolve and determination to make a difference leads him to become a high school teacher helping troubled youth to get back on track. A powerful action drama. [Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 A very good movie about a triad boss turned high school substitute teacher with some great action sequences.... the story and dialogue do get a bit mooshie at times but Simon Yam gives a great performance and the movie is very well made... beats the hell out of Dangerous Minds if you ask me... (7/10) [Reviewed by Andrej Blazeka]

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL Reformed triad hitman Cheung Chi Wing (Simon Yam) takes a job as a substitute teacher for a rowdy bunch of no-future high-schoolers, but his girlfriend (Anita Yuen, again) is ambivalent about the change. That is, until he saves some of his kids from a local triad gang looking for recruits. A little gooshy (not to mention derivative), but at least has some decent action sequences, and of course Anita. (2.5/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 6